Drama

Why is it important to our students’ futures?

Drama at Lighthouse focuses on improving performance skills and confidence. Drama provides a platform for the students to express themselves creatively and develop skills that will help them to communicate and self-advocate at school and in the wider world. Students develop a deeper understanding of non-verbal communication – analysing body language and facial expressions. Drama also looks at building emotional literacy skills, as well as a develop empathy, perspective, and social imagination. This can be something that Lighthouse students can find challenging. In Drama, students often identify how different characters may respond to different situations and different stimuli. Cross curricular links are strong – this includes with English, SaLT, and Creative Media. This gives students opportunities to understand the value of drama for their futures.

What does Drama look like in Lighthouse School?

We have a spiral curriculum that supports our learners in retaining learning and building on concepts. Students build on the drama skills they developed in previous years. Students look in depth at the key skills in Drama, such as eye contact, voice projection and emotional expression, and then apply these to different scripts/ scenes. Students complete mini projects where they apply drama skills to different scenarios and briefs (such as working together to make an advertisement, looking at all the stages of production as well as the performance aspects). This supports students in generalising the skills. In KS4 and KS5, there is the opportunity to complete the Arts Award Bronze level, where students will build a portfolio of their work and progression in the subject over two years. Students take part in a filmmaking unit where they work together to develop a script, then rehearse, perform, and film it. In previous years, films Drama students have created have won the Golden Owl Awards.

What have students gone on to achieve in the subject?

Every student who has accessed Drama in Key Stage 4 and 5 has achieved the Arts Award Bronze Level. Multiple students, across many years, have won a Golden Owl Award for their performance and production.

Drama Curriculum: